NYC Broadway Week Breaks Records
3/7/19
NYC & Company has supported Broadway with NYC Broadway Week for so long, it’s easy for some to think that the program runs “on autopilot.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, Winter 2019 was the highest selling Broadway Week ever, with 141,602 tickets sold across 24 participating shows, generating $9,642,046 in revenue (up $598K from the previous record of $9MM in Winter 2016). That doesn’t happen by accident.
We spoke with Janette Roush, Managing Director, Marketing at NYC & Company, about the work they’re doing to keep Broadway Week fresh and ensure year-over-year growth for the program. According to Janette, “Broadway Week was marketed earlier this season as part of the NYC Winter Outing campaign, in which the dates overlapped with Restaurant Week and Must-See Week to create a better story for press and incentive for overnight visitation.”
That decision resulted in 300 international articles focused on NYC Winter Outing inclusive of NYC Broadway Week. NYC Winter Outing’s resonance also resulted in coverage in the travel sections for the LA Times, Washington Post, The New York Times, and more. Combined, a total of 185 domestic articles (including more than 10 print pieces) and 43 broadcast segments—on NBC affiliates across the country, ABC’s Eyewitness News, CBS New York, PIX 11, and more—spotlighted NYC Broadway Week in its own right and NYC Winter Outing on the whole.
The overlap, along with the early announcement of the program in December with the ability to save shows to a “wish list,” also created an incentive for travel partners like Porter Airlines to promote travel to NYC during a time of year where they have seats to fill on their flights.
Janette also talked about the media support that NYC & Company secures for Broadway Week. Through their efforts this winter, Broadway enjoyed $300,000 in NYC Broadway Week media value across Facebook, Instagram, paid search, taxi TV, bus shelters, and Link NYC screens. Add to that over $500,000 in NYC Winter Outing media value across digital outreach in Philadelphia, taxi TV, Porter Airlines media in Canada, PATH station platforms, LIRR car cards, LIRR station platforms, and LIRR Penn Station digital screens.
All of that extra marketing support and exposure equal ticket sales during some of Broadway’s lowest-grossing weeks in the dead of winter, and a good 20% of those sales are from domestic and international tourists. It’s certainly something to celebrate.
For more information on The Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
In fact, Winter 2019 was the highest selling Broadway Week ever, with 141,602 tickets sold across 24 participating shows, generating $9,642,046 in revenue (up $598K from the previous record of $9MM in Winter 2016). That doesn’t happen by accident.
We spoke with Janette Roush, Managing Director, Marketing at NYC & Company, about the work they’re doing to keep Broadway Week fresh and ensure year-over-year growth for the program. According to Janette, “Broadway Week was marketed earlier this season as part of the NYC Winter Outing campaign, in which the dates overlapped with Restaurant Week and Must-See Week to create a better story for press and incentive for overnight visitation.”
That decision resulted in 300 international articles focused on NYC Winter Outing inclusive of NYC Broadway Week. NYC Winter Outing’s resonance also resulted in coverage in the travel sections for the LA Times, Washington Post, The New York Times, and more. Combined, a total of 185 domestic articles (including more than 10 print pieces) and 43 broadcast segments—on NBC affiliates across the country, ABC’s Eyewitness News, CBS New York, PIX 11, and more—spotlighted NYC Broadway Week in its own right and NYC Winter Outing on the whole.
The overlap, along with the early announcement of the program in December with the ability to save shows to a “wish list,” also created an incentive for travel partners like Porter Airlines to promote travel to NYC during a time of year where they have seats to fill on their flights.
Janette also talked about the media support that NYC & Company secures for Broadway Week. Through their efforts this winter, Broadway enjoyed $300,000 in NYC Broadway Week media value across Facebook, Instagram, paid search, taxi TV, bus shelters, and Link NYC screens. Add to that over $500,000 in NYC Winter Outing media value across digital outreach in Philadelphia, taxi TV, Porter Airlines media in Canada, PATH station platforms, LIRR car cards, LIRR station platforms, and LIRR Penn Station digital screens.
All of that extra marketing support and exposure equal ticket sales during some of Broadway’s lowest-grossing weeks in the dead of winter, and a good 20% of those sales are from domestic and international tourists. It’s certainly something to celebrate.
For more information on The Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
Originally published in Broadway Briefing.